testing newer toolchain components

[Dan Kegel]

Robert P. J. Day wrote:
>   even though my sh3 build seems to work, if i wanted to test newer
> toolchain components and i have some machine cycles to spare, is there
> anything untoward about just bumping up a component version number and
> letting it build?
> 
>   for example, sh3 has the combination:
> 
> 	gcc-3.4.1
> 	glibc-2.3.3
> 	binutils-2.15
> 
> just for fun, i could bump gcc up to 3.4.2 or 3.4.3 and see what
> happens?  is there a rigorous recipe for doing this kind of testing,
> or does one just crank up the version number(s) and let it rip to see
> what happens?

Just crank it up and see what breaks.  Let's say you move to gcc-3.4.3.
The first thing that might happen is it might not build;
that could either be a new problem, or an old one that was
worked around by a patch in crosstool's patches/gcc-3.4.1 directory.

The second thing that might happen is it might not produce fully
working binaries.  Again, that might be caused by a new problem,
or by an old one that was worked around by a patch in crosstool's patches/gcc-3.4.1 directory.

You should run the gcc and glibc regression test suites, or whatever
test suites you have handy, before and after the upgrade when you experiment like this,
since a working toolchain is by no means assured.
- Dan

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